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The annual report (AR) is a yearly publication by the company and is sent to the shareholders and other interested parties. The annual report is published by the end of the Financial Year, and all the data made available in the annual report is dated to 31st March. The Annual Report is a Official Document approved and certified by the Auditors and the Regulatory bodies such as SEBI, thereby lending credibility to the Report. The Annual Report is also a Public Document which means anybody can have access to the document and the data contained in it can be put to test and any misrepresentation of facts in the annual report can be held against the company.

Typical annual reports will include:

  • General corporate information
  • Operating and financial review
  • Director’s Report
  • Corporate governance information
  • Chairpersons statement
  • Auditor’s report
  • Contents: non-audited information
  • Financial statements, including
    • Balance sheet also known as Statement of Financial Position
    • Income statement also known as profit and loss statement.
    • Statement of changes in equity
    • Cash flow statement
  • Notes to the financial statements
  • Accounting policies
  • Other features

 The annual report has many sections that contain useful information about the company. One has to be careful while going through the annual report as there is a fragile line between the company’s facts and the marketing content that the company wants you to read.

Note, no two annual reports are the same; they are all made to suit the company’s requirement keeping in perspective the industry they operate in. However, some of the sections in the annual report are common across annual reports.